ML20151U040
| ML20151U040 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/15/1988 |
| From: | Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | WRANGLER LABORATORIES |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20151U034 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-QA-99990004-880815 EA-87-223, NUDOCS 8808180383 | |
| Download: ML20151U040 (14) | |
Text
.__ ______________ __________-_ _ ____________
4 e
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ,
In the Matter of Docket No.: 9999004 WRANGLER LABORATORIES, License No.: General License i LARSEN LABORATORIES. EA 87-223 ORION CHEMICAL COMPANY, and JOHN P. LARSEN Provo, Utah ORDER REV0 KING LICENSES I
Wrangler Laboratories, Larsen Laboratories, and Orion Chemical Company (the licensees) are firms using source material under general licenses granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Comission (the Cornmission/NRC) pursuant to 10 CFR 40.22. The general license granted by 10 CFR 40.22 authorizes the use or transfer of not more than 15 pounds of source material at one time and the receipt of not more than 150 pounds of source material in any one calendar year.
II Mr. John P. Larsen has been doing bustress as (dba) Wrangler Laboratories.
Larsen Laboratories, and Orion Chemical Company and is the owner and sole proprietor of these fi ms. Mr. Larsen's companies are all involved in the chemical processing of depleted uranium (DU). The licensees receive slugs of 00, dissolve the material in boiling nitric acid, precipitate uranyl acetyl -
acetate (UAA) using 2,4 pentanedione, dissolve the UAA precipitate in benzene to produce recrystallized UAA, and subsequently dry, grind, filter, package and ship the pure UAA product. The UAA product is ultimately used as a catalyst in the production of Department of Defense munitions, 4
{881so383880815 99990N UIkN
. j 1
2 ,
l l
On August 23, 1982, an inspection was conducted at Orion Chemical Company.
During the inspection, NRC determined that the licensee was in violation of several regulatory requirements. These violations included possession of source material at one time in excess of the 15-pound limitation on such mdterial, refusal to make records available to NRC, unauthorized disposal of DU, and failure to maintain complete records. Subsequently, on September 3, 1982, the NRC issued an Order to Show Cause and Order Temporarily Suspending License (Effective imediately). On October 25, 1982, the NpC issued an Order Rescinding Order to Show Cause and Order Temporarily Suspending License. This action was taken following the licensee's corrective measures to bring the operations into compliance. On December 15, 1982, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty for the above violations. The amount of the Civil Penalty was $500. On March 16, 1983, the licensee responded to the NOV and paid the Civil Penalty.
As a result of the August 1982 inspection, the NRC determined that Mr. Larsen's chemical processing activity should be conducted under a specific license, due to the potential for contamination of workers and the environment. A specific license (SUB-1436) was issued by the NRC in December 1983 to Larsen Laboratories of Provo, Utah. The responsibility for overseeing this specific license was transferred to the State of Utah upon its becoming an Agreement State. On May 13, 1985 Utah reissued to Larsen Laboratories specific Radioactive Material License UT2500183, which authorizes possession of up to 150 kilograms of DU at one time.
(
3 On April 15, 1986 NRC received an allegation of improper activities being conducted by Larsen Laboratories. The allegation was transferred to the State of Utah, which performed inspections and found numerous violations. In all, the State of Utah found five contaminated facilities in which Mr. Larsen had conducted activities.
At one of these facilities, contaminated liquids were leaking from drums that had been stored on a truck for approximatEly 2 years. On November 5,1986, the State of Utah issued an Order Suspending License (Effective imediately) and Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalties in the arount of $13,000. The Order, which is still in effect, required, among other specified actions, that the licensee: (1) not receive or use source material except to secure or transfer such source material in its possession, (2) dispose of radioactive wastes, (3) decontaminate two facilities in the Orem area, (4) move to production facilities that have been approved through license amendment procedures, and (5) obtain a qualified Radiation Protection Officer. On January 15, 1987, a Settlement Agreement between the State of Utah and Larsen Laboratories was signed. The Agreement required that the specified activities in the Order be completed by April 15, 1987, and that $8,000 of the Civil Penalties would be suspended. The licensee paid the remaining $5,000 civil Penalties but has not complied with items (4) and (5) of the Order.
On October 28, 1987, the State of Wyoming inforr,ed the NRC of an allegation that it had received concerning improper activities at Wrangler Laboratories in Evanston, Wycming. On November 4 5, 1987, NRC inspected Wrangler Laboratories and found that Mr. Larsen, dba Wrangler Laboratories, was conducting chemical 1
4 operations in a temporary facility and appeared to have exceeded uranium possession limits. As a result of NRC concerns, an enforcement conference was held with Mr. Larsen on December 2,1987, in Salt Lake City. Subsequent to the November 4-5, 1987, inspection of the Evanston, Wyoming, facility, NRC Region IV also obtained agreements with Mr. Larsen for certain corrective measuresintended(1)toterminatelicensedactivitiesattheEvanston facility, which was considered inadequately equipped for the chemical processing of depleted uranium, (2) to provide followup monitoring for certain individuals who had previously shown elevated uranium in their urine, and (3) to safely remove all licensed material, waste, and contamination from the facility so that it could be returned to unrestricted use. These actions were specified in Confirmation of Action Letters (CAls) issued on November 12 December 8 and 31, 1987 and March 18 and April 1, 1988.
NRC pegion IV also began an investigation of Mr. Larsen's NRC licensed activities. This action was taken in response to questions raised during the NRC inspection and the enforcement conference concerning Mr. Larsen's previous activities in acquiring, processing, and transferring DU, and questions surrounding bioassay samples and Mr. Larsen's compliance with the CALs. The results of the investigation have not been issued as of the date of this Order.
However, the investigative results available substantiate the NRC staff's concerns that Mr. Lorsen's activities under the general license were conducted with a significant disregard for the safety of himself and his employees, and for the public health and safety. This was indicated by the uranium levels in the employee bicassay samples.
5-Due to the questions surrounding Mr. Larsen's activities, the apparent use of I
inadequate controls that resulted in contamination exceeding fiRC guidelines, evidence of internal contamination of workers, and Mr. Larsen's apparent f
1 inability to strictly comply with Confirnation of Action Letters, an NRC Order dated February 25, 1988, issued to Mr. Larsen and the ccmpanies he represents suspended the general licenses. The Order also allowed the licensees and Mr. Larsen to show cause why the Order should not have been issued by filing a written answer under oath or affirrration setting forth the matters of fact and law on which the licensees and Mr. Larsen rely. Mr. Larsen's response to the Order, which was not under oath or affirmation, was sent by letter dated March 18, 1988. That response is addressed below and in the Appendix to this Order, e
i i Hr. Larsen's Parch 18, 1988, reply to the NRC Order confirmed the following i
information:
(1) That he exceeded the 15-pound limit for transfer of source material under I
1 a general license issued pursuant to 10 CFR 40.22 by originating shipments from Wyoming of 16.7 and 16.3 pounds of DU on June 1 and Decerber 20, 1987, respectively. He also confirmed that he transferred DU from his i
Utah facility to his customer on five dates (December 9,1986; February 2, 9 and 17, and March 3,1987) that were well after the State of Utah's Nover.ber 3,1986 Order suspending his specific license and requiring, among other things, that he intne_diately place all source material in his i possession in locked storage er transfer such material to an authorized recipient. ,
C I
i e
a -
j i
I (2) That he exceeded the annual limit of 150 pounds for receipt of source material under a general license at his Evanston, Wyoming, facility. The e
amount received was at least 155.8 pounds in 1987.
(3) That, in deviation from Item ' of the CAL dated November 12, 1987, Mr. Larsen failed to obtain baseline urine samples from two individuals who worked in the final processing and cleanup of the Evanston, Wyoming, ;
i facili ty. According to Mr. Larsen, "their baseline levels were assuwd to be zero," and he "was trying to keep expenses down."
(4) That, in deviation from item 2 nf the CAL dated December 31, 1987, Mr. Larsen failed to submit with the workers' urine samples a background i sample. The erployee samples that were submitted showed high uranium f values that Mr. Larsen later attributed to contamination within the sample containers and/or the fact that the samples were damaged in transit to the laboratory.
(5) That, in deviation from item 3 of the CAL dated December 31, 1987 Mr. Larsen stopped collecting urine samples from two individuals every f 3 days, as committed to, before he had received confirmation that results .
from two consecutive sanples were less than 30 microgrars per liter. ;
r l
(6) That, in deviation from Item 4 of the CAL dated Deewber 31, 1987, the results of certain urine bioassay results that showed a high uranium r.oncentration l Were not submitted to the Fegion !Y office when they were received by ;
Mr. Larsen. In his letter of March 18, 1988, Mr. Larsen clains the results t
were not sent to Region IV beceuse "the samples were questionable."
i e
. - . -,,w---- - , , - - , - - . , - - - - . . -- - - - ---
In addition to the above, the NRC had determined by inspection or by other information prc by Mr. Larsen that his activities in Wyoming involved the follcwing:
Hr. Lar:. .
aed in the March 18, 1988 reply to the Order Suspending License tt:at when he moved his operation fron Utah to Wyoming he started with "a ncw understanding and resolve for absolute confinement c,f source material and waste materials," and "on the whole, we were much improved in our work operation." Despite this claim, the NRC found that Mr. Larsen's Wyoming facility was inadequate for the purpose it was being used. For example, prudent engineering controls such as those that Mr. Larsen was committed to under the terms of his Utah license for the same activity -- ventilation and air filtration units or filtered fume hoods -- were not in place in Larsen's Wyoming facility. There was no plumbing in the facility, and few contamination surveys or air samples had been documented by Mr. Larsen.
The personnel bloassay samples obtained by Mr. Larsen have showa unacceptably high uranium concentrations. Since February 1987, samples have been submitted on a total of four individuals who have worked at the Evanston facility, All four have, on at least one occasion, exceeded levels at which action is recommended by NRC. Of all the sample results reported, 50 percent exceeded the action level (30 ug/1). Mr. Larsen has suggested reasons for the high values, including contaminated san.ple containers, samples damaged and found leaking in transport, the consumption of food in his facility which may have been contaminated, and questionable analytical results by the contractor laboratory, fiany, if not all, of
these reasons could have been confirmed or ruled out if Mr. Larsen had complied with the CALs by collecting samples in containers known to be free of contamination, by submitting baseline and background sanples, and by collecting samples according to the committed schedule.
III Aside from Mr. Larsen's enforcement history and previous noncompliance under his specific licenses in Utah, the activities conducted in Wyoming under an NRC general license have raised serious concerns within the NRC. The activities have taken place in a facility which was inadequate, with no assurance that similar activities in the future would be conducted in a more suitable facility. The activities, which have involved the chemical processing of significant amounts of source caterial, are of such a nature that the radiation safety, chemical safety, and waste disposal aspects of the operation should not be conducted under a general license. Moreover, activities of this nature were not anticipated by the AEC at the time of 10 CFR 40.22 rulemaking. The exemption in 10 CFR 40.22(b) from the requirements of 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 clearly indicates that activities under the general license were seen as not involving an occupational radiation hazard, Finally, the specific conduct of Mr. Larsen's Wyoming operation with respect to compliance with source material possession limits and Confirmation of Action Letters has established a record of performance unacceptable to the NRC.
In consideration of the collective ccnclusions stated above, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that Mr. Larsen, individually, and his companies
-g-will comply with Commission requirements in the future. Therefore, I have detarmined that the public health, safety, and interest require that the general license authorization for Mr. Larsen, as well as the named licensees, to receive and use NRC licensed material, under their respective general licenses, should be revoked.
IV Accordingly, in view of the foregoing and pursuant to Sections 62, 63, 81, 161b, 161c, 1611, 1610, 182, and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR Parts 2 and 40. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
The general license authority of 10 CFR 40.22 with respect to Wrangler Laboratories, Larsen Laboratories, Orion Chemical Company, and Mr. John P. Larsen is revoked and the foregoing licensees and Mr. Larsen shall not receive or use source material under the auspices of a general license in locations under NRC jurisdiction.
V Upon consent of Mr. Larsen or the licensees to the provisions set forth in Section IV of this Order, the provisions specified in Section IV above ball be final without further Order.
4
I I
_ 10
~
VI Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(b), Mr. Larsen, either one or more of the licensees, or any other person adversely affected by this Order, may request a hearing within 20 days of this Order. Any request for hearing shall be sutoitted to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, O.C. 20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement, Office of the General Counsel at the same address and to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000, Arlington, Texas 76011. If a person other than Mr. Larsen dba the licensees, requests a hearing, that person shall set forth, with particularity, the manner in which the petitioner's interest is adversely affected by this Order and should address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d). Upon the failure of the licensee to request a hearing within the specified time, this Order shall be final without further proceedings.
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such a hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/
am WG M. Taylor [Jeputy Executive Director or Regional Operations Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this /ST4-day of August 1908
APPENDIX Supplenental Evaluation Of Mr. Larsen's March 18, 1988, Reply To The February 25, 1988, Order Some aspects of Mr. Larsen's March 18, 1988, letter are addressed in the body of this Order. The remaining aspects are addressed in this supplement. The page references are to Mr. Larsen's letter.
Page 1 - Mr. Larsen expressed a valid concern about not having received the findings and reconinended decontamination plan following the January 19-20, 1988, survey by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
Coincidentally, that information was mailed to Mr. Larsen on March 18, 1988.
Page 1 - Mr. Larsen expressed concern about the connotation of the word "abandoned," as used in the February 25, 1988, Order. The Order published in the March 8,1988, Federal Register states, "In all, the State of Utah found 5 contaminated facilities that Mr. Larsen had abandoned." As we understand it, the Utah Bureau of Radiation Control found uranium contamination at every facility that Mr. Larsen had vacated or, as we chose to state it, "had abandoned." To our knowledge this is a truthful statenent. The remainder of the paragraph is fact.
Page 2 - Mr. Larsen expressed concern abnut the accuracy of the statement that "On October 28, 1987, the state of Wyoming informed the NRC of an allegation that it had received concerning imoroper activities at Wrangler Laboratories in Evanston, Wycning." That statement describes accurately how NRC Region IV first learned of Mr. Larsen's activities in Evanston.
Page 2 - Mr. Larsen implied that he had been candid regarding the locations where he had processed depleted uranium. We concede that Mr. Larsen might not have understood the period of interest to the inspector.
However, we also note that Mr. Larsen was not immediately candid in answering a similar question during the December 2,1987, enforcement conference.
Page 3 - Mr. Larsen contested the statement that he had deviated from a November 12, 1987, CAL commitment to conduct baseline urinalyses, l But Mr. Larsen in his March 18, 1988 reply to the NRC Order dated February 25, 1988 adnitted that baseline urine samples from two individuals were not obtaired because their baseline levels were assumed to be zero and he was trying to keep expenses down.
l Page 3 - During the enforcement conference on December 2,1987, Mr. Larsen l stated that he did not have results of lapel air sampler
! measurements required by the November 12, 1987, CAL. Subsequently, the NRC determined that a lapel sampler person (but not by all involved persons)probably had been worn b during work performed November 10-13, 1987, thus partly satisfying the November 12 CAL.
i
Appendix Page 3 - Regarding Mr. Larsen's claim to being the sole supplier of VAA to the Department of Defense, as stated in the Order, NRC has deternined that D00 purchases UAA fron others.
Page 4 - As stated in the Order, State of Utah authorities had been told that UAA was being shipped from Evanston, Wyoming, not from Utah.
Page 4 - Mr. Larsen notes that the purchase of DU from Aerojet Heavy Metals had occurred several years ago. This fact is unimportant. The Order simply states the discrepancy between Mr. Larsen's statement and a supplier's records without regard to time.
r age 4 - Mr. Larsen stated that he tried to comply with the Decenber 31, 1987 CAL. Specifically, the CAL called for two individuals,'who had previously shown elevated uranium concentrations in their urine, to submit additional urine samples starting nn later than January 1, 1988, and continuing once every three days until such time that the results of two consecutive samples for each individual showed less than 30 micrograms per liter. The reason for the action, as explained to Mr. Larsen during the telephone conversation of December 31, 1988, was concern for the individuals, and the uncertainty surrounding the cause of the previous high values. At that time the best method of validating the bioassay results and estimating potential intake was to immediately begin tracking the concentration over time before the remainder of any internally deposited uranium was excreted.
As NRC learned later, Mr. Larsen did obtain samples from the two individuals during the period from December 28, 1987 to January 3, 1988. One individual submitted two samples, the other three, with a sample frequency of three days. After January 3, 1988, no other samples were obtained until January 10, 1988, despite the fact that the results of the December 28, 1987 through January 3,1988 samples would not be known by Mr. Larsen until the samples were assayed on January 8, 1988. The assayed samples once again shewed high uranium concentrations, all well above 30 micregrams per liter. In deviation from the CAL, there were no subsequent three day samples following January 3,1988, and the opportunity to track the bioassays over time until they were below the action level had been lost. Recognizing that the results were above the stated action levels, Mr. Larsen reinitiated the sampling on January 10 and 13, 1988. These samples, which were assayed on January 21, 1988, were less than 30 micrograms per liter and were, in fact, background levels.
The December 31, 1988 CAL also called for Mr. Larsen to submit l
copics of the results of the urine sample measurements to the l Region IV office as he received them. Noting that Region IV had not I received copies of the results in the time frame expected, the NPC inspector called Mr. Larsen on February 4,1988. Mr. Larsen stated that he had just received the results and was forwarding them. The results he forwarded were those frem January 10-13, 1988 samples.
l l
1 i
Appendix The December 28, 1987 through January 3, 1988 samples that Mr. Larsen learned from his cont-actor laboratory on January 8,1988, contained high uranium concentrations, were not reported to Region IV. Noting that the sample dates of the results reported to Region IV did not coincide with those specified in the CAL, the NRC inspector again called Mr. Larsen on February 9,1988 to inquire into the discrepancy. Only then did Mr. Larsen reveal that the earlier samples had been taken and had showed high values.
Mr. Larsen stated that these results were not reported to the NRC because he believed they were erroneous.
l l
I l
f ..
Wrangler Laboratories DISTRIBUTION bec w/ encl:
PDR SECY CA JMTaylor, DEDRO HThompson, HMSS JLieberman, OE EFlack, OE LChandler, 0GC Enforcement Officers RI, RII, RIII, RV HDenton, OGPA Edordan, AE0D BHayes, 0I SConnelly, DIA OE:ES File OE:EA File QfS JEL4.
RIV Distribution:
RDMartin JMMontgomery RLBangart WLFisher DBSpitzberg JTGilliland (ltr hd)
GFSanborn DAPowers RIY Files MIS Coordinator CLCain RJDoda RHall l
l l
3 g% to. A OEeliin RI OGCGiin 0 y0 EFlack RMartin LCha'ndler JLiebennan kylor 7/ry/88 7/a//88 7//7 /88 1/l)/88 gg/88 l
E _ - - - _ - _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _